[Addicted]

Try that.

[xman]

Try that.

I know the numbers don't lie, but if you ever rode these cams, you would find that the Stage 1 feels like a stock cam would feel at about 4000-4500 RPM's on up. If the Stage 1 performed as well as the graph states, I would have stayed with it. It has always puzzled me how a dyno can show one thing (cars, trucks, bikes) but the vehicle will behave differently in the real world............hhmmmm?

[[email protected]]

I know the numbers don't lie, but if you ever rode these cams, you would find that the Stage 1 feels like a stock cam would feel at about 4000-4500 RPM's on up. If the Stage 1 performed as well as the graph states, I would have stayed with it. It has always puzzled me how a dyno can show one thing (cars, trucks, bikes) but the vehicle will behave differently in the real world............hhmmmm?

That's an excellent point.
For instance, I liked the low end and mid range my X had with the Stage 2 a lot more than with the stock cam. Maybe, a little less and a little smoother is easier to manage, in transition, whatever, bu the fact is I love how it ran.
My favorite MX track, and it is one fast track, with an uphil that rivals Mt. St.Helens, seriously. A guy I went up against a few times on a KXF450 would clearly pulL me going up that hill, i'd be shifting from 2nd through half of 4th before we reached the top after starting nearly side by side at the bottom. The Stage 2 either ate that difference up or his Kawasaki lost a bunch of power because al of a sudden I would pull even with him. We talked aboout that and he remarked at the clear improvement, pretty cool stuff, because those Kawasakis are some seriously strong runners.
I know that's not really scientific, but if I got another 450X the Stage2 or an OEM R cam would be going right in it. Doug

[Bryce]

ditto Doug's comment about the increase in bottom with the stage 2. I ride mostly technical single track and find the stage 2 to work well in most all conditions

Bryce

[gj2slick]

Very cool stuff,and the way it looks to me is if I ever get another cam for my X it will probably be A stage 1 or the R cam.The reason being is that my style is to ride the bike in more of the low to upper mid range.Higher rev,s does not mean more speed(unless allways riding pinned in 5th) in fact it pulls harder and tracks better shifting in the lower to upper midrange.For me I allways have to remember its A 450 4-stroke (not A 2-smoke)Let me say its all personal preference!! to ones own riding style.
Geeze now do I want to get A cam?

Greg...slick...

[paul turner]

Stage 3 looks like a linear son of a gun. I would've like to have seen the HP increases below 4200rpm.
Birthday comin' up, so i've just been a thinkin'.
Kinda looks like a hard decision. I can surely see where you guys favor the Stage 2. Great input here from the members, thanks.
Based on the cool spread sheet graph, would anybody be inclined to try the Stage 3 over their Stage 2 ?


paul

[Asmith]

Based on the cool spread sheet graph, would anybody be inclined to try the Stage 3 over their Stage 2 ?


paul

Not after you got us all hyped up on the Stage 4...

[Addicted]

Stage 3 looks like a linear son of a gun. I would've like to have seen the HP increases below 4200rpm.
Birthday comin' up, so i've just been a thinkin'.
Kinda looks like a hard decision. I can surely see where you guys favor the Stage 2. Great input here from the members, thanks.
Based on the cool spread sheet graph, would anybody be inclined to try the Stage 3 over their Stage 2 ?


paul

If there is a a certain area you want me to compare closer I can do it?

[paul turner]

Stage 3 looks like a linear son of a gun. I would've like to have seen the HP increases below 4200rpm.
Birthday comin' up, so i've just been a thinkin'.
Kinda looks like a hard decision. I can surely see where you guys favor the Stage 2. Great input here from the members, thanks.
Based on the cool spread sheet graph, would anybody be inclined to try the Stage 3 over their Stage 2 ?


paul

If there is a a certain area you want me to compare closer I can do it?

Not at all. Thanks Sir. We're limited to the info supplied, thats for certain. I really like the big HP gains of the Stage 1 in the midrange, like 4 HP across the whole Mid. I don't use much top end, except to try and keep up with the Dirty Dork in the flat fast stuff, and thats where the Stage 3 looks appealing. Huh


paul

[Rhoghead]

Stage 3 looks like a linear son of a gun. I would've like to have seen the HP increases below 4200rpm.
Birthday comin' up, so i've just been a thinkin'.
Kinda looks like a hard decision. I can surely see where you guys favor the Stage 2. Great input here from the members, thanks.
Based on the cool spread sheet graph, would anybody be inclined to try the Stage 3 over their Stage 2 ?


paul

Yes, at Cost plus 15%.............

[[email protected]]

Based on the cool spread sheet graph, would anybody be inclined to try the Stage 3 over their Stage 2 ?

I sure would.
Why not ? I mean I loved the Stage 2, but that graph shows some things most of us really like. Sometimes something will be experimented/designed or or for a specific application and inadvertantly something unexpectedly great comes out of it. Like Penicillin, Teflon, etc.
If I had no experience with any of those cams , there was no advertisement about what each is supposed to be for and all I had to go on were the graphs I'd go right for the Stage 3.
I think sometimes though we tend to ride in a certain rpm range and in specific terrain that maybe more power in that range isn't necessarily better, so long as the bike has more than enough torque with any of the options cam wise to climb anything or do anything in the situations we frequently find ourselves in. In the case of these 450's I NEVER run short of power to do anything. I do run out of brains to do the right thing, but not power.
So maybe the personality of the engine can be better for what we're looking for if the power is a little less and a little smoother, transitioning a little differently ?
Maybe this why Lafferty continued to run the 400 in the GNCC's as long as he did...throught the 2006 season at minimum. The big rumor in the KTM community is that though his XCW450 was marked as such with it's graphics that this, the last year for them to run the old style RFS motors he was running the 400cc piston and barrel. I don't know that that's true, but who knows, it's be tough to tell by looking or listening. Doug

[xman]

I am going to be installing a Stage 3 this weekend for a noob in our group. I tried to talk him into the Stage 2 for how and where we ride...but he had already drank the Kool-Aid and bought the Stage 3. We have a ride set up for Sunday out at Valley of Fire. It's perfect for a side by side test with the Stage 1's and 2's in our group. I'll let you know the feedback on Monday.

[paul turner]

Cool xman. I hope you also ride his machine.

[xman]

Cool xman. I hope you also ride his machine.

I always ride them after I open it up. That way if I screwed up in any way I can make up some BS story to cover it up.
We are all kinda wondering about the Stage 3 so we are going to all switch between bikes with the 1,2 and 3 and compare notes. all the bikes have JD kits, twin air cages and filters so it should be a fairly close comparison.......stay tuned.

[[email protected]]

That'll be a good report, I look forward to it. Doug